Improved carpet-wadding



' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS H. DUNHAM, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED CARPET-WADDING.

Specification forming part ofLetters Patent No. 54,312, dated May 1,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. DUNHAM, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inGarpet-Wadding, the same being a new article of manufacture; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof.

The articles now in general use for covering floors and prerenting thewear of carpets are wad ding, cotton-battin g, and paper ofvariouskinds; also, batting and thin sheets, made of fibrous substances,in closed between two sheets of paper.

The article that I have invented is composed of a sheet of battingattached to one or more layers of paper stuff or pulp, the parts beingso united and consolidated as to combine the advantages due to a paperthat is impervious to dust, and to batting or soft fiber that isslightly elastic or yielding to the tread, while the adhesion of thefibrous material or batting to the paper-pulp that forms its coating orexterior prevents the displacement of the fibrous substance and insuresa uniform thickness of the wadding when laid down upon a floor under acarpet.

The bat or layer that gives elasticity to the wadding is composed ofvarious kinds of fibrous substances, such as wool, hair, cotton, jute,linen, manila, wood in fine shreds, or any mixtures or combinations ofthese materials, the same being usually of a coarse or inferior quality,or it may consist of the waste of the above'named or other fibrousmaterials.

This article, called carpet-wadding may be manufactured in various ways.One mode of making the same is as follows: Paper pulp-or stuffisprepared in the same manner as for the manufacture of paper. It is thencarried forward on an endless apron, and as soon as it is of the rightconsistence-that is to say, partially hardened, but not dry-the battingor layer of fibrous material is pressed upon it by a roller or othersuitable mechanism, which causes the fibers on the outside of the sheetof batting to enter into the paper-pulp and be mingled or incorporatedwith it. It is then passed between drying-rollers, which drive off themoisture, and the-pulp as it hardens closes upon the fibers of thebatting. It is then passed between calenderrollers, which give an evenand smooth surface to the. paper, while it condenses the batting orsheet of fiber.

In some cases I make use of the fabric manufactured as above stated-thatis to say, consisting of a sheet or layer of batting having upon one ofits sides a coat or layer of paper, which adheres to the batting withoutthe use of gum, mucilage, starch, or other similar substances usuallyemployed for the manufacture of wadding; but I prefer to coat both sidesof the batting or sheet of fibrous materials with the paper-pulp.

I thus form (without the use of any adhesive gums or similar substances)a fabric having an exterior of paper and a central layer of fibrousmaterials, or one layer of paper and one of fiber, which, when usedunder a carpet, prevents it from wearing and insures suitable elasticityand an even surface.

The pulp may be made of various substances. Forinstance, when greatstrength isrequired I use manila pulp or stuff for the exterior coating.I also make use of a pulp made from leather scraps and from the fibrousbark of the cedar, this latter material being also of value for theprevention of injury to carpets by moths.

What 1 claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A wadding composed of a bat or layer of fibrous materials, and havingeither upon one or both of its sides a layer or sheet of paper,

in which the exterior of the fibrous bat is embedded while the paper isin the condition of partially-hardened pulp, which adheres to the fiberand holds it in place without the use of starch, paste, or adhesivegums.

THOMAS H. DUNHAM. n s] In presence of- JOHN M. BATOHELDER, JOSEPHWALWORTH.

